Daewoong pharmaceutical said Wednesday it acquired marketing and commercial rights for an osteoporosis drug from Sandoz, Novartis’ generic division.

The recent agreement follows a partnership established in 2014 between Sandoz Korea and Daewoong for the latter to sell and promote the drug nationwide.

“By acquiring these rights, Daewoong will be able to strengthen its product lineup and secure a steady cash-flow,” said a Daewoong official. “We will try to increase sales to reach 20 billion won ($17.6 million).”

Daewoong’s announcement follows the partnership agreement between Amgen Korea and Chong Kun Dang pharmaceutical to sell its osteoporosis drug in the Korean market. Despite the onset of bisphosphonates to treat osteoporosis, clinicians say Korea still lags behind in prevention and treatment.

■ Related : Korea lags behind osteoporosis prevention and treatment

Novartis’ Zoledronic Acid (also marketed as Zometa in the U.S.) is a bisphosphonate drug given intravenously to treat certain bone diseases. It is approved by the U.S. FDA to prevent skeletal-related events (SREs) in patients with some cancers. The drug has the largest number of indications among bisphosphonates, the Swiss company’s Korean branch said.